Upcoming Blackberry Phones 2014: Could The Z3 Be Company's Savior? Midrange Smartphone Popular In India And Indonesia

This time of the year in 2013, who would have thought we would be reporting about upcoming Blackberry phones for 2014? 

But the Canadian manufacturer has overcome that fearful chapter and is already bouncing back in order to be relevant once more. 

Blackberry's success this year is highly accounted for its partnership with phone maker Foxconn. Another factor is the company's decision to launch its new devices in the mass market in Asia. 

According to a report by GSM Arena, in an interview with India's Economic Times, Blackberry CEO John Chen was highly pleased with the performance of the Blackberry Z3 midranger in the markets where it is currently available, namely Indonesia and India. 

In the interview, Chen said that the Blackberry OS-powered device has been 'extremely well received' by the market, though he did not provide specific numbers. 

Chen added that most of the consumers may have favored the Blackberry Z3 over other handsets in the market because of its big screen, good battery life and the extremely low price tag. The device is currently priced below $200, and that price may go lower as mobile competition will become tighter with the upcoming release of newer Android handsets. 

The Z3 packs a 5-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, Snapdragon 400 chipset, dual-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD card slot, and a 5MP primary camera. Interestingly, the device has a 1.1MP front cam for selfies, a feature that would not be possible for a $200-worth smartphone. 

Other specs include the usual connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. 

Of course, Blackberry still has some aces up its sleeve as the company is preparing for the launch of two other devices as well, namely the square phone Blackberry Passport, and the Blackberry Classic, both of which pack the company's patented QWERTY keyboard.